ROANOKE COUNTY, Va. – Roanoke County police arrested the man they believe killed three people early Tuesday morning.
Police say Miranda B. Trump, 18, of Roanoke, Brandon D. Dekle, 20, of Bent Mountain, and Cole P. Kennedy, 21, Bent Mountain were all found dead at about 1 a.m. Tuesday.
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Cole Kennedy's godmother, Jackie Rader, tells us both Dekle and Kennedy worked together at Bent Mountain Bistro. She said Kennedy moved to Roanoke to be with his childhood best friend, Brandon Dekle. She does not know the connection between the two men and the suspect, or the third victim.
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Rader said Kennedy and Dekle lived together in the home where police found them. She said the third victim did not live at the home. Police were led to the home after Trump's father contacted them when he could not find her. Trump's car was discovered down an embankment from Honeysuckle Road, a remote, gravel road running across the ridge line of Poor Mountain.
Trevor E. Charles, 18, of Roanoke, has been arrested and is charged with three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of use of firearm in the commission of a felony.
He is being held at the Roanoke County/ Salem Jail.
UPDATE
Roanoke County police say a woman found dead in a home on Bent Mountain Tuesday morning may have been involved in a car crash Monday.
Police spokeswoman Amy Whittaker said the woman's father started to look for her out of concern when he was unable to reach her. He ended up finding her car over an embankment on Honeysuckle Road on Monday. No one was around the car and he called police.
Honeysuckle Road is a steep, windy gravel road with very little traffic.
Hours after her father called police, officers were able to make a connection between the woman and the house on the 9200 block of Bent Mountain Road. No one responded when officers knocked, so they went into the house for a well-being check.
That's when the officers discovered the bodies of the woman and two men. They all had fatal gunshot wounds.
Authorities know the identity of the woman, but have not released her name. The two men have not been identified.
Police say the murders were not a random act and the public is not in any known danger.
ORIGINAL STORY
Roanoke County police are investigating after three people were found dead on Bent Mountain.
Their investigation began around 1 a.m. Tuesday at a home in the 9200 block of Bent Mountain Road, where two males and a female were found dead.
Police are calling this a triple homicide investigation, but say there is no known threat to the public.
All three of them appeared to have died from gunshot wounds, according to police.
Including this incident, police say there have been five homicides within the past month in Roanoke County.
Police have not yet arrested anyone and are "aggressively pursuing leads," according to a police spokesperson.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.